After recounting their task in defeating this dark lord, the king spoke about the world's sphere. Midas told them of the city he ruled over and the existence of magic and undead rising from the depths during the night to haunt and kill innocent people.
Heartland, as he calls it, is the capital and the only city for the Empire, an enormous metropolis that is the only center of all culture and technology. The city itself spans thousands of kilometers, with its vast districts ruled by powerful nobles and filled with commoners who live in decentralized communities. It is divided into four districts: the Imperial District, the Noble District, the Common District, and the Slum District.
Along with this 'Empire' he rules over, the king then explained how his great-grandfather managed to unite all warring tribes and kingdoms together for their greater good, ensuring that peace would not be threatened between fellow humans.
Hence, his grandfather established order and brought justice for everyone, ruling over the land with an iron fist while being responsible for maintaining peace among the people, as war between conflicting neighbors has become a myth ever since he claimed the throne.
Until the dark lord came, where everything has been in chaos ever since, it was said that the dark lord brought legions of undead along with these enigmatic and corrupted warriors called crimson knights, who are traitors of mankind. No one is truly certain how they came to be or how he managed to raise an army in such a sudden moment.
Some people believe the mysterious evil magician is an insane megalomaniac who sees himself as ruler of the world after achieving so much power and, in his greet and pride, decided to bring terror to people in such a way. Others claim the person isn't human at all but rather a malevolent deity who wishes for world dominance through endless fear and suffering.
"So I am certain that you finally understand our situation; is that correct?" The king finished with a stern expression, his eyes glued to them while remaining composed. Seth and Billy have mixed emotions about what they just heard, having a hard time understanding and processing the situation.
On one hand, the follower of God is deeply afraid of slaying someone, as he is never the type of person who kills because of his morals against using violence when he could run away or hide; it is something that he would rather do as opposed to using it.
While the other, Billy, is skeptical of this whole thing; he doesn't know whether everything letting to this point is an obvious prank that took itself seriously or perhaps his really whisked away into land, far far away. It is something he needs to know, but for the time being, he might as well figure this out in due time.
Guan Yu sighed in resignation, closing his eyes, and nodded with a deep breath as the bored little girl lazily stood beside her father. "Your words speak of honesty," he said, opening his eyes while speaking in a mature and serious tone. "How can we find this man when there is no evidence or clues for us to start on?"
King Midas gave the warrior a curt nod in return. "In the northeast ocean of this southern land, where the giant whirlpool is surrounded by the harsh winds of a tornado that cannot be crossed without a proper boat that is specially made by a master carpenter and the aid of fellow magician," he explained to the three with a stoic expression, "is where he resides, from what they reported to be a portal to his dimension after a single one of my scouts had managed to escape at critical state," he clarified to the group.
Caressing his well-kept beard, the warrior was skeptical if this was some trap leading them to their deaths. "I do not doubt the words that you are speaking; however, it is unreasonable for anyone to be able to pass through," he said, gazing suspiciously at the king.
Exhaling in frustration, "I did not come all the way here to just send a bunch of people to their deaths; for that, I wouldn't waste my time in doing so," the monarch of the city emphasized to Guan Yu his intentions: "If that were the case, then you three wouldn't be here in the first place, and this summoning ritual would end up being wasted." This was a reasonable argument that he made, as it wouldn't make any sense to do all this in the first place of wanting to kill random people.
Cinder pouted, her eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows scrunched before speaking her thoughts: "Old geezer, do you not trust my father?" Frowning at the possibility of guests doubting his words, her eyes locked onto him. "Are you not believing what he says to you?" The princess questioned him in a stern tone, glaring at him like an angry puppy.
Level of guilt expression reflected onto the man's eyes. "Apologizes, little one," Guan Yu bowed sincerely, "but there are things I have yet to comprehend; it is not to be taken personally, especially from a young lady such as yourself." His gentle voice comforted her in this situation.
"Good, you better apologize!" Cinder puffed her chest, pointing at him before shifting her anger to Midas. "I'm bored, father; can I do something else besides being here?" She complained with tired eyes, wanting to leave the boring conference already.
A chuckle was elicited from Billy, who was irritated by staying inside this castle for nearly an hour. "Coming from a spoiled princess like you, it's hard to take you seriously," he smirked while earning a glare from the little girl, who was none too pleased.
King Midas sighed before smiling back to her daughter, "escort to their rooms." He waved his hand to the nearby guards, who nodded silently before going to their designated positions and following them from behind for the girl's protection. "Feel free to leave my castle anytime whenever the three of you are ready," he spoke with authority, to which they complied as she led everyone to their way out into the hallway.
Mentally exhausted from this long discussion, Seth felt like he needed a long rest from this; the fact that he was transported into this realm and pulled into this mess was too much for him to handle. He hoped to go home someday.
"What's your name, by the way?" Cinder asked from behind, smiling cheerfully while being keenly watched over by her father's bodyguards, "We never got around to talk about it." A little grin appeared on her lips, wanting to become friends with them.
The nervous Seth and irritated Billy ignored her completely, simply focusing on getting to their room rather than bothering with her company. Guan Yu, on the other hand, was more than willing to start a conversation with the child. "I am Guan Yu, a former warrior serving under warlord of Liu Bei," he proudly exclaimed at the girl with courtesy and respect.
"Interesting!"
The princess's eyes shone with delight at this new information as she walked. "Tell me more, old geezer, what is your home like?" Her head tilted with curiosity burning through her eyes. "Is it nice? Do you have siblings or cousins?" Many questions began flowing through the tip of her tongue, eager to learn more about his background.
Laughing lightheartedly, "I would wish to tell you of my battles, but I'm afraid that I could not for a young child like yourself," not wanting to risk her innocence of being harmed by his dangerous past, "but if you are patient enough to wait, I will be willing to tell you stories," he promised her, which she gladly accepted.
"Yay!" She pumped her fist at the air, excited at the idea of hearing people's stories aside from her own. "I'm sure my father won't mind if you read some bedtime stories to me!" The princess loudly announced it with a confident expression.
Billy snickered at this. "Aww, she wants a grandpa to read her story as a lullaby," he mockingly taunted with an arrogant tone. "Maybe the old man should sing to you in a rocking chair while playing piano and telling fairy tales to make you fall asleep," he chuckled to himself, fully aware of how immature that sounds.
Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she said, "At least he isn't some jerk that's mean to everyone!" Cinder glared angrily behind her should, "At least I had a good mother!" She retorted back, clenching both fists from this unpleasant remark that the rude cowboy gave out.
Snapping his eyes directly at her with a death glare at the princess with eyes full of malice, "What was that?" His voice rose in pure fury, wanting to march and strangle her. "Are you insulting my mother?" His fist tightened, infuriated to the point of pulling his gun out.
The armed guards occupying them could only watch in both interest and indifference, forcing everyone to stop in their tracks when the two decided to walk up to each other face-to-face with an angry expression plastered on their faces.
"Your mother is weak, stupid, and can't do anything without help!" The princess stated her opinion towards him, crossing her arms and huffing in contempt. "Probably that is why your big jerk all the time," she coldly declared as she dismissed his anger.
Staring menacingly at the little girl, he felt the overwhelming urge to hit her but didn't, knowing that the consequences of doing so would be far worse than doing nothing. "Yeah? Well, you're just a selfish brat that knows nothing!" He growled, stepping closer towards her, until Seth came between the two, interrupting their argument.
"Please stop, the both of you," Seth nervously suggested with a timid demeanor, "this isn't what God would want from us." He prayed for the Lord's forgiveness for committing this sin of wrath; "arguing over petty matters is beneath us as people, and to resolve this, you have to—"
Click!
Colt Revolver was directly aiming at his left cheek, freezing him in place as his eyes were wide like saucers from the barrel of the gun touching his skin. "How about you back away from me?" Billy lowly spat with rage, not tolerating being told what to do: "Or are you a hero who wants to play savior for everyone?" The revolver was slightly pushed forward, "move aside punk."
Face contorting into expression of fear, "p-p-please put d-d-down the g-g-gun, I'm n-n-not worth of t-t-that," stuttering miserably, he backed away with raised hands and shaky voice while sweating bullets. "Don't shoot, I-I-I don't want to die," pleading in complete terror of being completely helpless as tears threatened to fall from his eyes.
"Enough," Guan Yu finally intervened, lowering his weapon between the two to separate each other. "Save your wrath for when you are on the battlefield, not against one another," his powerful words struck Billy's mind, causing him to cease his turmoil. "This is not what those of nobility should be acting like," chiding the boy for starting this and the girl for reacting with aggression.
Putting his gun back in its holster, he scoffed at them before pushing her and the weapon aside. "Whatever," he bitterly responded while not caring what the man had to say to him, leaving the astounded group behind in their wake.
Seth doesn't know what to say in this situation, sweating nervously from what happened. Nonetheless, he managed to release a sigh of relief after it was over. With his breathing getting steady, the boy looked to see his comrade disappearing out of view.
He didn't expect Billy to go that far in using his gun at him, but after seeing how he had done that before against Ada, he himself should be more cautious when interacting with that person. That is something he needs to remember how dangerous that person is capable of doing.
Because he never would know what anyone is capable of doing in this world, as this is something he should learn from now on and know what kind of person that person is, but in the meantime, Seth is glad that everything ended as soon as it started.
Just when he was about to depart along with Guan Yu and Cinder after she silently walked forward with an unreadable expression, the boy hesitated for a brief second, his hand fidgeting the cross, looking downwards to think over whether to actually trust them now since the blue-shirt boy was threatening to kill him with a weapon in hand.
